


forever you and i

by dodgefred



Category: The Two Princes (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Underage Drug Use, some fluff but mostly just breakups and suffering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24400210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dodgefred/pseuds/dodgefred
Summary: They bathed in silence for a while. Until Rupert was able to wipe the tears from his eyes and say, “It’s like I barely know you anymore.” Amir didn’t respond, so Rupert said, “What about the Amir who told me about ‘soulmates’ and ‘forever?’ Where’s that Amir? And where’s the Rupert who believed him?”
Relationships: Prince Amir/Prince Rupert (Two Princes Podcast)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 49





	forever you and i

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was based on bare a pop opera which is a musical that tackles a lot of tough issues such as religious homophobia, teen drug and alcohol use, body image issues, and teen pregnancy. this fic only deals with fear (and therefore mentions) of homophobia, as well as teen drug use.
> 
> you can listen to the songs that inspired this fic here, here, and here
> 
> thank you to my friend renée who helped me with this structure of this fic. she wrote her own bare au that you can read here. thank you to my friend bella who edited this fic for me.

Rupert waited impatiently just outside of the locker room for Amir. He always did this: stand right beside the door of the stinkiest room of all of St Christopher’s School, in anticipation of the arrival of his boyfriend and the rest of his soccer team from that day’s practice. It was almost a routine they shared, so it wasn’t a shock that Rupert was there. He practically bounced up and down when he could hear the boys chattering in the locker room- he knew that meant Amir would be out!

When Amir returned, sweaty and clearly very exhausted, Rupert called his name. His eyes lit up as soon as he caught Rupert’s gaze, and soon Rupert was in his arms for just a second as a quick kiss was exchanged. Their relationship was a secret, which was difficult when the halls were crowded like they were. Rupert had needed to glance around and make sure they weren’t being watched. The fact that he’d needed to do it always upset him; he wished he could be openly affectionate with Amir. Amir always warned that it was dangerous, but was it really?

Rupert was snapped out of his concern by Amir’s words, “Wanna go...back to our dorm later?” A coy smile tugging at the corner of his lips and his strong hand clasping Rupert’s.

“I think we could...” Rupert murmured.

Their moment of bliss was interrupted by the entire soccer team surrounding Amir. His genuine smile was replaced by his usual princely smile- the one he held when he needed to look good in front of his friends. Amir was popular. He was good at sports and was wealthy and had lots of friends. Amir had it all, really, and he needed to look good in order to upkeep that.

“Good game today, Amir!” “Amir, you  _ rock _ !” “Superstar!” Were shouted to Amir from his teammates, and he took the compliments and the pats on the back in stride.

As soon as he noticed Rupert’s disappointment, he pulled himself away from the group and dragged Rupert down the hall into a stairwell, where he thought they’d be safe.

“It’s always like this,” Rupert admitted with a frustrated sigh.

“We’ll just duck in here, and—” Amir was interrupted by a horde of girls who all ran down the stairs at once and called out his name. Rupert was shoved away from the crowd as the girls giggled and flirted with Amir, asking him for his number and complimenting his muscles, and…

God, Rupert felt terrible watching things like this happen. This was supposed to be  _ their _ time, and they didn’t have much of it before the bell would ring. He didn’t want to share his boyfriend with the world. If only people knew about them, then maybe he wouldn’t have to share.

Amir managed to squeeze his way out of this crowd, too, and grab Rupert’s hand. They dashed up the stairs and found another quiet corridor. By the time they made it there, panting and laughing, they finally had a place where no peering eyes could find them. Despite all the attention Amir got from everyone else, Rupert was breathless and in love.

“I’ll be with you always,” Amir assured Rupert. “No matter who gets in our way.”

Rupert smiled and pressed a kiss to Amir’s chin. “You better,” he teased. “Those girls were all getting pretty handsy back there.”

“They’re not the ones who make me go out of my mind,” Amir noted.

Rupert laughed. “You’re cute. That’s real cute of you.”

“Don’t worry, Rupert,” Amir assured, pulling away from him. He guided Rupert out to the upstairs hallway as he spoke. “I wouldn’t leave you. What we have is perfect.”

This upper hallway was much less crowded than the downstairs one, so they could hold hands as much as they wanted.

“Well, then can we tell my mother?” Rupert asked, to which Amir coughed. Clearly that was a bad idea, so Rupert decided against pressing. Still, he was sort of annoyed.

To console this, Amir said, “Look...when we hold hands, you leave me totally breathless. And looking into your eyes...It makes this whole secret thing, the whole whispering in the hallways thing- it makes all of that worth it. It’ll be...you and I forever.”

A pink blush spread across Rupert’s freckled cheeks as his smile grew. Amir pulled Rupert into a bit of a longer kiss. “And, tonight?” Amir asked, after they pulled apart. “We’ll cuddle in bed, and...?”

Rupert rolled his eyes, but he nodded. Yes, this was all a big distraction and change of subject, but Amir was really good at it. “You’re a jerk,” he muttered through his grin and his red face.

Rupert leaned in for another kiss right as the bell indicating they’d need to get to class rang. Amir dodged the kiss and said, “I’ll miss you,” as he dashed off to class.

Rupert would be late again, but he didn’t mind. “Yeah. Forever you and I,” he said quietly to himself as soon as Amir was out of earshot.

Rupert wanted so badly just to tell  _ someone _ ,  _ anyone _ , but Amir’s fears stopped that from happening. He could hardly imagine just how incredible it would feel to hold Amir’s hand in a hallway with more than three people in it, or how great it would be to talk to his friends about how much of a great boyfriend Amir was. And yeah, Rupert understood. Amir had a reputation. Amir had strict parents. Amir needed to get into a good college across the country. But it still hurt all the same. Rupert had needs and wants, too. He felt like he was suffocating between all of the kisses and compliments. He wanted this relationship to be  _ his _ , too.

...

Lights. Colors. Sound. The world was spinning, and in the best way. Rupert and Amir’s friends had dragged them out to some college fraternity party — somewhere they definitely weren’t supposed to be — and everyone was having the time of their lives, high off of whatever the hell they had been handed.

It had been a few days since Rupert realized he had felt suffocated by his boyfriend’s worries, and now that he was dancing in the strobe light of some frat house with Amir and Joan and Cecily, he had realized just how stupid those realizations were. Or maybe he was just high. Rupert couldn’t tell.

Rupert and Amir were dancing together. They hadn’t ever been this close in public before. Rupert’s hands were going up and down Amir’s body and Amir was loving it, his head thrown back in ecstasy.

Rupert started to kiss Amir’s neck, though, and Amir tensed. Rupert didn’t recognize this and stood on his tiptoes to reach for Amir’s lips. Amir grabbed Rupert’s face and guided it away from him. He didn’t want to kiss. Rupert looked at him with confusion, and Amir shook his head.

“I need some air,” he said just above the music, and immediately ran for the door.

“Amir!” Rupert called. He followed.

The two stumbled into the moonlight in the backyard of the house, which was totally empty except for some people passed out drunk in the grass.

“Amir,” Rupert said, quieter and more hurt than frustrated.

Amir pressed a long, lingering kiss to Rupert’s lips. This was the kind of kiss they shared in their dorm, when no one was watching. Rupert relished in it, but he pulled apart and took a deep breath.

“You couldn’t kiss me inside?” He asked.

“I said I needed some air.” Amir was defensive.

“Yeah, I heard you. Look, Amir, I-...” Rupert started, but gave up. He sighed and sat on a nearby tree stump.

Amir thought for a long time. He joined Rupert on the stump, a careful hand at the lower part of Rupert’s back. “I know this world has a place for us. And we’ll find it if we’re patient.”

Rupert simply nodded in stubborn silence. Amir wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close to comfort him. “Give time a chance. I know it’s hard- to wait until everyone’s asleep until we can love each other. I know. But it’s worth it, right?”

“All I want is  _ you _ , Amir,” Rupert finally spoke, he leaned into Amir’s touch, shutting his eyes. “And I love being with you and kissing you and touching you and hearing your words, but Amir, I just- I don’t  _ want _ to hide. I want to love you outside of our dorm. And I think it’ll be okay. We love each other. And mom’s always told me that love protects people, so maybe we’d be alright.”

He pulled away to lock eyes with Amir, then continued, “And I’m looking around tonight and- everyone’s being so open and free. And I want to know why we can’t do that. Why can’t we end our secret?”

Amir sighed. “It’s best kept secret.”

Rupert shook his head. “Amir, no one in there cared. We were dancing together and touching each other and  _ no one cared _ . There were at least a thousand people in there. Just give people a  _ chance _ , Amir!” He stood, feeling so much more upset than before.

“A chance? A chance to what? To- to be bullied out of school? To be shunned by our parents? To be spat at on the streets? This isn’t real life. This is all fake, and when we go back to school, real life is going to hit.” Amir argued, his tone sharp and his words terrifying. He had stood up too, his passion matching Rupert’s. “Just think it through for more than two seconds!”

“I  _ have _ thought it through, but you’re just shutting me out!” Rupert shouted. “You’re a coward!”

Amir took a deep, pained breath at that. “And you’re a fool.” His words came out much less aggressively, yet still angry.

Rupert shut his eyes and took a few breaths, trying to calm himself from just how absolutely upset he was. He didn’t want to fight with Amir, he just wanted to be heard. “We can’t do this forever, you know.”

“Forever?” Amir asked. “Can we please focus on right now?” He sat back down and put his head in his hands.

Rupert walked back over to the stump and rubbed Amir’s shoulder gently. “I- I’m sorry, Amir. But...I think we have to grow up. There’s so much more to relationships we haven’t explored because of the whole  _ keeping-it-a-secret _ thing.”

Amir nodded, looking up at Rupert. He didn’t say anything but, “It’s a secret.”

Rupert hesitated, but agreed. “Okay. It’s a secret.”

Rupert sat back beside Amir and leaned his head on his shoulder. “I love you, Amir,” he said.

Amir shifted and cupped Rupert’s face as he tilted it to meet his, and the two shared a kiss with no witnesses but the stars.

...

Rupert and Amir were going on a walk. Rupert had a lot on his mind. After the party the previous night, they needed to sort through some things with a clear head.

The first bit of the walk was silent as each boy prepared what they wanted to say. It was broken by an apology Rupert didn’t expect.

“I’m sorry,” Amir said.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. That I called you a fool and all of that. And that I haven’t been...listening to you. You’re right.” Amir didn’t expand on this. He just fell back into silence.

“Oh, um...that’s good,” Rupert said. “Because...I was thinking about telling my mother. About us. Spring break is soon, and...”

Amir cut him off. “Right,” he said. “Um...Hey, do you want some coffee?” They were coming close to a Starbucks, but Rupert knew Amir was just trying to distract him again, like he always did.

“Amir, stop,” Rupert sighed. “We can’t keep doing this. Listen to me.”

“You’re kidding right?” Amir asked. He had that look on his face. Like the next move Rupert was going to make would be a bad one. And yet Rupert continued on.

“No, I’m not. You don’t understand, I need to tell her.” Rupert stopped walking and grabbed Amir’s hands, looking into his eyes. “I need her to know. And I need you there when I do it.”

Amir took a breath and shut his eyes for a minute. It was clear he wanted to compose himself. He didn’t want to blow up on Rupert, but Rupert knew Amir well enough to know that he was going to burst soon.

“Sure, Rupert. Let’s tell your mother. So then she can call  _ my _ mother and tell her.” His tone was sarcastically angry, which Rupert didn’t like. “And then she can rush down here and conference with the headmaster! Oh, and then maybe I can go on a gap year from college while I deal with a sexual identity crisis! Or- or maybe my mother will just  _ beat the absolute shit out of me  _ and disown me instead! Yeah, I bet that’ll be her first move. Doesn’t that sound  _ great _ , Rupert? So yeah, let’s tell her, when do we leave?”

Rupert grabbed onto Amir’s shoulders, his face contorting in a sudden burst of sadness. He was trying to hide away the tears that were dangerously close from falling. “Amir, I can’t deal with this anymore! You’re  _ all I have _ , don’t you get that? And I need to talk about this! I almost told my counselor the other day and—”

Amir gasped and shook Rupert’s hands off of him. “You  _ what _ ? Are you out of your mind?”

“Amir, stop, this doesn’t have to be such an issue!” Rupert countered. “In a few months we’ll be adults! We’ll be out of here and we won’t have to hide anymore, Amir! Where this won’t be a problem!”

Amir shook his head. He ran his hands through his hair, shutting his eyes tight as he thought. A headache was probably coming on, Rupert knew. “No, no, Rupert- this is  _ always _ going to be a problem.”

Rupert’s heart ached. He reached up to cup Amir’s face, to comfort him. “What are you say—” And suddenly he was on the ground, shoved backwards. The bottom of his pants tore slightly against the concrete, as he felt the cold ground beneath his bottom. Amir had shoved him.

As he stared confusedly at the boy who had once promised him the world, Rupert could only see coldness in his eyes.

“This? Us? Whatever- it needs to  _ stop _ .” Amir’s voice was much louder than Rupert had ever heard it while they were talking about their relationship, and suddenly he didn’t like the feeling of being in public. No one was around, but he felt like the world had eyes on him.

Amir’s expression changed suddenly, upon realizing what he had done. He held out a hand for Rupert to take, but Rupert flinched.

They bathed in silence for a while. Until Rupert was able to wipe the tears from his eyes and say, “It’s like I barely know you anymore.” Amir didn’t respond, so Rupert said, “What about the Amir who told me about ‘soulmates’ and ‘forever?’ Where’s that Amir? And where’s the Rupert who believed him?”

Amir still didn’t say a word, so Rupert stood, dusting himself off. He took off his sweater, tying it around his waist to cover the holes in the back of his pants that he was sure were there.

“You told me about kingdoms and dragons. We escaped the real world. You slew all of my monsters, and now that they’re coming for you, I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know what to do, Amir. I trusted my hero, and now he isn’t even saying goodbye.”

Rupert felt deeply maddened by Amir’s lack of response. His blank, broken stare foreword. “I guess that goodbye got lost in all that stupid, cowardly, straight-acting talk!” He snapped.

“Who are you to blame this all on me?” Amir asked, anger once again rising. “You’re the one who wants to tell people. Just because you’re okay with yourself doesn’t mean we both are! It isn’t that simple! Wake up, Rupert. There’s no such thing as fairytales. Or should I explain this in simpler terms? The clock is striking midnight. It’s  _ over _ . We can’t keep pretending. There’s no such thing as heroes like us. There’s no such thing as heroes who are queer!”

Rupert had no idea what to say. He was stunned. He didn’t expect words like that to come from Amir, ever. Amir, the boy who had fantasized with him about being free and true to themselves. Amir, who had created a fairytale world with him. Amir had just said the most unthinkable thing Rupert had ever heard.

Rupert pursed his lips, nodding. “Okay,” he said. “Okay. So much for our ever after. So much for forever.” He sniffled, trying to keep all of his sadness locked away. It wasn’t working. “You were my tomorrow, you know. My whole future.”

He turned to leave. To run back to their dorm and cry into his pillow.

“Rupert,” Amir called, when Rupert was a few feet away.

Rupert wordlessly turned back, expecting an apology. Expecting them to be able to move on.

“Please...promise you won’t say anything to anyone.”

Oh. That’s all he wanted. Rupert nodded. Before Amir could say anything else, Rupert ran off. Tomorrow was gone. Forever was dead.


End file.
